How can Rubber Manufacturers Automate Quality Control using CrumbGuard

We’ve helped manufacturers deliver high quality rubber since 2009. Our BaleGuard system, engineered to provide 360 degree surface inspection and automatic rejection has inspected millions of rubber bales, preventing costly customer complaints. However, BaleGuard is more than just the last line of defense for quality assurance. Using the logged defect data from BaleGuard, rubber manufacturers were able to improve their operations by understanding what process conditions were contributing to out-of-spec rubber bales.

BaleGuard has provided rubber manufacturers a way to automate their quality control and help them derive valuable insights from the logged defect data. Based on the benefits of implementing BaleGuard, it was a natural extension to apply similar technology upstream to analyze defects on the rubber crumb that form the bale. CrumbGuard, an automatic machine vision inspection system, provides this additional layer of quality control.

How Does CrumbGuard work?

CrumbGuard provides automatic color inspection of the crumb just prior to being baled. CrumbGuard analyzes acquired images for different types of defects including black, brown or yellow crumb. The bale formed from the crumb is rejected if either a single defect is greater than a user specified minimum defect size, OR, an overall percentage of the crumb is calculated as defective. A contamination signal is sent to the PLC and the plant can configure the baler to make off-weight bales to trigger automatic rejection of the bale at the weigh scales.

CrumbGuard is not limited to colour defects but can also be configured with a thermal camera to measure thermal properties of the crumb such as hot or cold spots, or temperature distribution. Extracting these properties provides valuable feedback for running the dryer(s) to produce high quality crumb consistently.

Getting Started with CrumbGuard.

It all starts with a trial. ProSensus has a 1 camera demo system that can be placed at line to scan for defective crumb in real-time at your plant. A trial is the easiest way to get all your stakeholders in one room to evaluate the benefits of CrumbGuard. If you’re interested in getting started contact us. If you’d like to learn more about CrumbGuard, or BaleGuard visit us at the International Elastomer Conference in Cleveland, OH October 10th – 12th at booth 1939.

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Michael holds a chemical engineering degree from McMaster University. He has been involved with client projects in machine vision algorithm development, troubleshooting analyses, and batch modeling. His recent projects have spanned across several industries including synthetic rubber, food, and chemical.